


Sweet dreams

by Mah_cat_typed_this



Series: DadMao and Badgerdad [1]
Category: Mao Mao: heroes of pure heart
Genre: Badgers, Cat, Comfort, Cute Ending, Family, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, bat, dadmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 09:10:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19226074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mah_cat_typed_this/pseuds/Mah_cat_typed_this
Summary: Adorabat has a nightmare and it's up to Mao Mao to cheer her up.





	Sweet dreams

A whimper. 

 

Fragile, scared and hopeless, maybe even a little pained, it echoed through the darkness of the moonless night. It was faint, but in the peaceful silence of their home even the faintest of sounds became very audible.

 

His ears twitched and turned towards the source of the whimper, his green eyes slowly opened and seemed to glow in the darkness of his room, he groaned as he brought his hand up to rub his eyes. Mao Mao was a light sleeper, actually, even that might be an understatement, the black cat woke up to the faintest of sounds, movements or smells, although that may be a great thing in case of a surprise attack during the night, he often ended up suffering through several sleepless nights because of unimportant things (like Badgerclops' snoring or an animal being too noisy). 

 

He sat up on his bed, his ears twitching, trying to find what woke him up. A few seconds went by and there was only silence, Mao Mao sighed in exasperation, just as he was preparing to go back to sleep, another whimper. This time louder and more desperate, whoever made them sounded like they were at the verge of tears, like a lost and terrified child away from their parents. 

 

It sounded like Adorabat.

 

He sat up again, wide awake this time. Something in his chest stirred, something unfamiliar to him and he felt an overwhelming urge to check on his young deputy. Sure he'd always been worried for Adorabat, placing her wellbeing above his wasn't anything new to him and he was sure Badgerclops felt the same, but this was something completely different from that, it was much stronger. Without hesitating any longer, Mao Mao left the comfort of his bed and as silently as possible, ran towards Adorabat's room. 

 

Once he got there, he was sure the sounds were coming from her room.

 

"Adorabat?" He knocked on the door a few times, "are you awake?"

 

No response.

 

"Adorabat?" He said, knocking on the door again, using a little more force than before. This time, a heart wrenching cry came from the other side of the door, his heart skipped a beat, without thinking twice, he opened the door and stepped inside the room.

 

On the bed at the corner of the room, a small bundle shivered and cried under the blankets, they weren't loud like the last one, but her soft cries continued, each of them sounded miserable, lost, desperate.

 

"Adorabat?!" Mao Mao's eyes widened and he made a beeline towards the young child, almost tripping over the drawing supplies she left scattered all over the floor. Once he was beside the bed, he pulled the covers off the little bat, her eyes shut and her light blue fur covered in sweat, he shook her as gently as he could. As soon as she felt his touch, her yellow eyes snapped open, Mao Mao watched with bated breath as she turned to look at him, her expression was fearful, confused, almost like she couldn't believe he was actually in front of her at that moment, like she was afraid she was still dreaming. It was strange seeing that expression on her face, she was always so optimistic, playful, happy… seeing her so vulnerable and hopeless felt wrong.

 

Mao Mao slowly reached out his hand and, as gently as he could, wiped her tears away with his thumb. 

 

"Are you okay?" He made sure his voice was soft and he did not startle her any further. Adorabat seemed stunned, moving her mouth like a fish out of water, unable to process what was happening. Then, without warning, her expression changed, more tears started forming and the young girl practically jumped into Mao Mao's arms, almost making him fall again. 

 

He was about to say something until he felt her start to cry again, clinging into him like he would disappear if she even so much as weakened her grip on him, wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around her small frame, rubbing circles on her back in hopes of calming her down. 

 

They remained like that for a few minutes, Mao Mao held her protectively as she cried, burying her face into his chest. 

 

Eventually, Adorabat's cries became softer and softer until they eventually faded away, becoming nothing but the occasional sniffles. Once he felt she was calmer, he loosened his hold and coached her back to her bed, his black fur was soaked with tears, but the cat didn't pay attention to it. 

 

"Did you have a nightmare?" Adorabat nodded in response, using her wing to wipe away any reminiscent of the tears that still threatened to fall.

 

"Want to talk about it?" She fervently shook her head this time, keeping her eyes hidden behind her wings. 

 

Mao Mao sighed, rubbing his tired eyes as he pondered what to do next, he was by no means experienced with children and he didn't have any good example of what to do either, whenever he had a nightmare as a kitten, he was left to deal with it himself most of the time, whenever he went to his parents or sisters all he would get were irritated groans or be told to go back to bed. He remembers how he felt whenever they did that, it hurt him more than the dream itself, and he'd never let Adorabat feel like he did, the only problem is he didn't know what to do.

 

"Mao Mao…?" The little bat spoke shyly, still keeping her eyes hidden from him. 

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Do you promise you and Badgerclops won't leave us?" She said, her tone suggested that she was at the verge of crying again.

 

"Leave you? Why would we leave you?" He raised an eyebrow at her, "was that what your dream was about?"

 

The little bat whimpered in response, hiding even further under her blankets.

 

He averted his gaze, trying to think of something he could do to cheer her up, how do you comfort children again? In the end, he thought back to his toddler years, how he was actually treated wasn't going to help in the slightest, but how would he have liked to be treated? What he'd like to hear in those times?

 

After some pondering, Mao Mao spoke.

 

"Hey, Adorabat?" Yellow eyes peeked from their hiding spot under the blankets. "Do you want to hear a story?" She uncovers herself and looks at him with curiosity, he takes it as a sign to continue.

 

"Did Badgerclops ever tell you about the time we tricked a bunch of thieves and saved a village?" 

 

She shook her head, he smiled and sat down on the bed right next to her.

 

"That was a few years ago, when we used to travel all around the world fighting evil and doing all sorts of heroic deeds. We were passing through a desert with mighty monsters and dungeons filled with all sorts of dangers" At the mention of monsters and danger, Adorabat was instantly hooked, looking at Mao Mao with wonder.

 

"But we were running out of supplies, so we decided to stay at a little village near a beautiful oasis, after a day or so, Badgerclops and I went out looking for dungeons, some were full of treasures, you know." Mao Mao winked. Adorabat laughed and nodded at him. "But when we came back, the village was complete chaos!"

 

"Was it the thieves?" She asked and he nodded in response.

 

"They had not only stolen every valuable object in town, but had also trashed everything they came across, they broke windows, spray painted the walls, threw rocks at houses, they even trashed the ceramic shop."

 

"How did you trick them?" Adorabat scooted closer to him.

 

"Easy, my little deputy," Mao touched her forehead playfully. "Those kind of thugs are all brawl and no brains, I disguised myself as defenseless merchant, filled a bunch of bags with colored rocks and glass that looked like jewels afar and put on a cloak an actual merchant let me borrow. As soon as we crossed paths they went crazy, I'm telling you. They were already fighting over who was going to get my "riches", he laughed at the memory. "While I distracted them, Badger was alerting the authorities and coaching the residents into a safe area, so when they finally came, I had already knocked the lights out of the thugs and all they had to do was tie them up and bring them to jail."

 

"Whoa! Bet they were angry when they realized they got fooled!" Adorabat laughed.

 

"Actually, they never did realize it was a trap." Upon receiving a confused look from her, Mao Mao explained, "I never took the disguise off, they never found out I wasn't a real merchant."

 

"Oh, I see."

 

"It was all thanks to my amazing acting skills, although the cloak she handed me was pretty expensive too, so that helped a little." Mao Mao bragged. 

 

There was a moment of silence and suddenly Adorabat exploded in laughter, holding her stomach and almost falling from her bed. He gave her a confused look, raising his eyebrow while wondering what did he say that made her laugh so much.

 

"She?" Adorabat snorted while she laughed. "You fought thieves while dressed as a girl?" 

 

"What?! No!"

 

"You did!" She exclaimed, laughing even harder than before. 

 

"It was a  _ cloak _ , Adorabat." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, bold of you to assume I can't fight in anything."

 

He smiled as the little bat continued laughing even snorting a bit, something she did sometimes when she laughed too hard, he wouldn't openly say it, but he did find it adorable. She always lived up to her name, afterall.

 

"Feeling better?"

 

"Yeah, haha…" she wiped a tear off her cheek. "Thank you, Mao Mao."

 

"Anytime, kid." He patted her head, she grabbed his hand with her wings and looked up to him.

 

"Can you stay here tonight? Pretty please?" She said, doing her best puppy eyes. Although Badgerclops was the one that couldn't resist that look, it didn't hurt to try. 

 

Mao Mao raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say you were feeling better?"

 

"Yeah, but if you do, I'll feel super duper mega better!" 

 

The cat stared at her for a few moments before finally sighing and complying. "Fine, fine…"

 

"Yay!" Adorabat moved to make space for him. The bed was small, nothing a cat couldn't squeeze in, but still barely enough to fit the both of them. 

 

There was silence for a moment before Adorabat suddenly stood up. "Wait! You forgot to promise!"

 

"What?" 

 

"The promise! Promise me that you and Badgerclops won't leave us!" She looked at him pleadingly.

 

Her nightmare must have been about him and Badgerclops abandoning the valley, thus rendering them vulnerable to monster attacks.

 

"Alright…" Mao Mao said, sitting up, he raised one of his hands and placed the other on his chest. "I, Mao Mao, sheriff of the Pure Heart Valley, promise you that I will not abandon you or your friends and will not stop protecting you until you are strong enough to defend yourself."

 

"Was that good enough?"

 

"Yes! Thank you!" She tackled him, hugging him tightly. He was startled, but returned the gesture anyway.

 

"Night night, Mao Mao." 

 

"Good night, kid." 

 

Instead of going back to her spot, the little bat remained on his arms, curling up against his chest. Without the heart to take her off, he laid back down, being careful not to disturb the child, and covered her with her blankets. 

 

Adorabat fell asleep very quickly after that, snuggled between her blankets and Mao Mao's fur. Mao Mao himself remained awake for a while, watching over her and making sure her sleep was peaceful. 

 

He was never going to admit it, but being with her, giving the attention and comfort he wanted so badly as a child made him so happy.

 

He also fell asleep after a while.

  
  


\---------

 

He never thought he'd live to see this.

 

His best friend was far from a cuddly person, that was a fact, seeing him like that was so surreal… yet it relieved him to some extent.

 

Badgerclops thought he was seeing things when he found Mao Mao protectively cuddling Adorabat while she slept peacefully, occasionally sleep talking about candy.

 

He found it strange when he woke up and didn't find Mao Mao on the kitchen like usual, he always woke up first than everyone else, he made breakfast and waited and waited… but no one came, not even Adorabat, who made a beeline towards the kitchen as soon as she woke up to eat her favorite cereal. He went to see if they were awake, Mao wasn't in his room, it worried Badgerclops, but he went to check on Adorabat before going to look for the black cat. He  _ better _ not have brought her monster fighting at six in the morning.

 

When he got to Adorabat's room, he found what he believed to be the most precious scene he'd ever seen that had his grumpy friend involved.

 

The best part? He could hear a faint sound coming from them, one he hadn't heard in years. Mao Mao was purring, it wasn't loud, but he definitely was purring.

 

Badgerclops couldn't help smiling. He grabbed the camera he usually keeps with him and snapped a few pictures, his smile grew, he'd never leave the house without at least one of these in his pocket.

 

After appreciating the scene for a little longer, Badgerclops left the room and went to eat his breakfast before it got any colder, he didn't want to wake them up. Who knows how important this moment was for the both of them.

 

One thing was certain, though:

 

He'd  _ never  _ let Mao Mao live this down.

  
  
  
  



End file.
